Pop-top opener tabs have been employed for many years in application with canned beverages such as beer and soft drinks. The popularity of convenience foods has caused the application of such tabs to be expanded to many other forms of food stuffs in which opening of a can or container is effected by grasping a portion of the tab and pulling, twisting, turning or otherwise displacing the tab with respect to the can, to create an access opening therein by rupturing a weakened or scored portion of the can through physical force.
Two types of pop-top opener tabs have gained general acceptance, particularly in the canned beverage industry. The first is the ring-type opener tab which is the most widely used and the second is the fulcrum-type opener tab which has more recently gained popularity particularly in states which have enacted mandatory beverage container deposit and return laws.
The ring-type opener tab includes a closure member which initially is integrally formed with the top of the associated can and is distinguished from the remainder thereof by a circumferential score line or perforations. An annular metal ring is riveted or otherwise affixed to the closure member and provides leverage during the opening process. An individual opening a can equipped with a ring-type opener tab grabs the ring and rotates it upwardly, away from the top of the can about the rivet, thereby tearing the top along the score line until the closure member is totally severed from the remainder of the can top.
Such ring-type opener tabs have a number of shortcomings and pose problems for certain individual consumers. First, the ring is often located within a recess in the can top and is difficult to grasp with fingers alone. This is a particular problem with infirm or physically disabled individuals. Additionally, individuals with short stubby fingers, long fingernails or no fingernails have difficulty in grasping the ring of typical ring-type tab openers. Furthermore, such openers can pose certain hazards and can be wasteful, in that the tabs are completely severed from the can and are often thrown away in the form of litter rather than returned for recycling. Because canned beverages are often consumed on the beach or other recreational areas where people walk in their bare feet, sharp tabs can easily be stepped upon with predictable results. Additionally, many beverage consumers form a habit of depositing the tab within the beverage can while consuming same thereby exposing themselves to a hazard of inadvertently swallowing the tab in the process of drinking the can's contents.
Fulcrum-type opener tabs also include a closure member which is integrally formed with the top of the can associated therewith and is distinguished from the remainder of the top by scored or perforated lines. A significant difference between fulcrum-type opener tabs and ring-type opener tabs is that, in the former, the score line does not totally encircle the closure member and a key portion, which corresponds with the ring, is riveted to the top adjacently outside of the closure member and has a bearing surface overlaying a portion thereof. The fulcrum-type opener tab is operated by grasping the key portion with the fingers and rotating it upwardly about the rivet. The bearing surface of the key portion pushes downwardly against a portion of the closure member near the scored line to begin to rupture the closure member from the can top. As the key portion is rotated upwardly, the rupturing process follows the circumferential edge of the closure member, substantially severing it from the rest of the can with the exception of the unscored hinge. By virtue of the abutting surface overlaying the closure member, the closure member is rotated downwardly out of the way when the key portion is oriented substantially normal to the can top. The key portion is then rotated back to its stowed or initial position. The obvious advantage of the fulcrum-type opener tab over the ring-type is that the closure member as well as the key portion remains attached to the can during and after consumption of the beverage therein.
Numerous implements have been suggested in the prior art to aid individuals in operating ring-type opener tabs. These implements are typically hand held and include a handle and a pointed projection which, in application, is guided through the aperture in the ring and used to secure a mechanical advantage thereagainst in the rotating motion. Examples of such implements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,216 to Goldberg and U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,297 to Bucko.
The Goldberg patent discloses a can opener for use with ring-type opener tabs including a handle 20, an extension member 22 projecting away from the handle and an insertion head member 24 having rearwardly directed ears 30. The Goldberg device is operated by inserting the head portion of the opener between the top surface of the can and the ring, passing the head portion through the hole in the tab until the ears pass through the hole. By gripping the handle 20 and rotating it as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the Goldberg patent, the ring tab is severed from the can and is retained with the opener by virtue of the rearwardly directed ears.
The Bucko patent also discloses a hand held ring-type tab opener which has a handle defined by a wire frame and a pointed hook 44 which, in application, is drawn downwardly through the opening of the ring to bear upwardly thereagainst when the opener is rotated as illustrated in FIG. 1 of Bucko. Bucko also provides for retaining the severed tab with the opener once it has been removed from the can by use of a tongue 30 which traps and stores the tab for future disposal.
Although devices such as those disclosed by Goldberg and Bucko are effective and overcome some of the aforementioned shortcomings of ring-type opener tabs, their application and use is restricted solely to ring-type tabs. Because fulcrum-type opener tabs typically employ apertureless spade-type key portions, prior art openers are not acceptable. Additionally, even if prior art openers were modified to become applicable with spade-type key portions of fulcrum-type opener tabs, many shortcomings would remain. Such prior art devices are often complex and expensive to manufacture and incorporate a sharp projection which is intended to pass through the opening of the ring-type tab. This projection represents a hazard if the opener falls into the hands of a child or a careless adult. Additionally, by retaining the severed tab with the opener, prior art devices expose the user to lacerations because of the near proximity of the severed tab to the users hand after opening.
A major shortcoming of prior art devices is that they are intended to only apply pressure or mechanical advantage in one direction. That is, they only pry the tab upwardly away from the can. In the case of the fulcrum-type opener tabs, a reciprocal displacement of the key portion to its stowed or initial position is required prior to consumption of the beverage contained within the can. With prior art devices, this reciprocal or second motion had to be effected with the user's hand, thereby lessening the attractiveness of such devices.
Finally, most prior ring-tab openers were often mechanically complex and were thus not conveniently transportable. Additionally, the complexity of such openers also increased the manufacturing cost thereof thereby preventing them from being used as advertising or promotional items.